Napster started in 1999. Search was centralised, but downloads were p2p. Edit: it shut down in 2001, and everyone I knew at the time was using it. vanderZwan m

Napster started in 1999. Search was centralised, but downloads were p2p. Edit: it shut down in 2001, and everyone I knew at the time was using it. vanderZwan might have misused the word torrent, but the rest of his post is spot on.